RC Girls Earn Second Shenandoah District Win
Led by strong defense, the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team fended off a comeback to earn a 42-39 home win over Shenandoah District rival Staunton on Thursday night in Lexington.
With the win, the Wildcats (2-4 overall, 2-2 district) bounced back from a 73-23 home loss to Stuarts Draft on Tuesday of last week. RC ended the busy week with a 44-43 road loss to Buffalo Gap on Friday.
Against Staunton (3-2, 2-1), the Wildcats overcame a slow start to take a 24-22 halftime lead. The Storm raced out to a 9-0 lead before the Wildcats applied pressure to force turnovers and make baskets. The Storm led 12-9 after the first quarter, but RC went on a 7-0 run to go up 18-15.
From the end of the first half to the final minute of the third quarter, the Wildcats went on a 16-0 run. They outscored Staunton 15-5 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 39-27.
The Storm battled back in the fourth quarter, scoring off RC turnovers to cut the Wildcats’ lead to three, but the Wildcats stopped Staunton from getting any closer.
RC head coach Darrell Plogger said the win “wasn’t pretty,” but added, “At this point, we will take every one of them and celebrate them.”
“I thought our defense was awesome,” added Plogger. “Most of their buckets came off of our turnovers and offensive rebounds. I thought our defensive effort was wonderful, the best it’s been all year.”
RC overcame 27 turnovers to get the win, while Staunton committed 13 turnovers.
Lola Mulitalo led the Wildcats with 16 points and had 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Madison Mangione scored eight points and pulled down 10 boards. Also contributing for RC were Dez Butler with eight points and two assists and Natalie Samante with six points and a team-high five steals.
Trioux Williams paced the Storm with 10 points. Kerein Scott scored nine points, and Ny’Myah Rodridgez added seven.
WILDCAT SOPHOMORE forward Madison Mangione looks for an open teammate while closely guarded. Mangione pulled down five rebounds and grabbed one steal. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
